hamlet

UK: /ˈhæmlɪt/ US: /ˈhæmlɪt/ ,(ham′lit)

Inflections of 'hamlet' (n):

hamlets

npl (All usages. For the fish. mainly used to talk about different types—e.g. "Hamlets include the barred hamlet and the black hamlet.")

hamlet

npl (For the fish. Especially as a collective plural—e.g. "Hamlet are popular as aquarium fish.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ham•let¹ /ˈhæmlɪt/   n. [countable]

1. Government a small village.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ham•let¹  (ham′lit), n. 

1. Government a small village.
2. British Terms, Government a village without a church of its own, belonging to the parish of another village or town.

• Gmc; see home) + -et -et
• Middle French, equivalent. to hamel (diminutive of ham
• Middle English hamelet 1300–50

Synonyms

• 1. See community. 

ham•let²  (ham′lit), n., pl. (esp. collectively) -let,  (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) -lets. 

1. Fish any of various sea basses of the family Serranidae, found in the warm waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, esp. the Nassau grouper.

• origin, originally obscure 1950–55

Ham•let  (ham′lit), n. 

1. Literature (italics) a tragedy (first printed 1603) by Shakespeare.
2. Literature the hero of this play, a young prince who avenges the murder of his father.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hamlet / ˈhæmlɪt/ noun

1. a small village or group of houses

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French hamelet, diminutive of hamel, from ham, of Germanic origin; compare Old English hamm plot of pasture, Low German hamm enclosed land; see home